Posted on 11/16/2004 11:00:12 PM PST by Stoat
100% accurate. Incidentally this is precisely the failed Canadian law. In the UK you have the right to opt out for private care. Both doctors and patients can opt out.
In Canada it is ILLEGAL for individuals to pay practitioners directly. (They can always go to the US for care).
Yummm. Roast ferret. Tasty.
Or how about less regulation? Why do you need an MD to pull a tooth? If the boy can't get a tooth pulled for 8 days, there is a problem of access to MD's anyway. If a nurse pulled a tooth and it got infected, he wouldn't have been any worse off but if it didn't get infected he would have been spared a lot of trouble, and the state expense for his time in intensive care.
<<< moving to other side of room in the event Leisler notices me and my somewhat 'ferrety' appearance
And another thing...what's this about chocolate and ice cream being good for your health? Is it your treat? Ghiradelli chocolates for me, if so.
I agree that less regulation would have helped this man immeasurably. He was passed through the system again and again until he nearly died, and the Socialized system is largely responsible for this.
As to your points about other healthcare practitioners doing a Dentist's job, in other situations I would agree although in this case I would suggest that by the time the young man was actually seen he was in dire shape and in need of far more than merely an extraction.
In the USA, we can thank John Edwards and his pals in the Trial Lawyers Association as well as the Democrats who endlessly block meaningful tort reform. This creates an environment where costs are needlessly high and healthcare practitioners are terrified of doing any procedure that is outside of their specific training and primary job description.
Yes and it is also the reason nobody who is not a licensed dentist would touch this boy's tooth in the USA.
I would also add that the trial lawyers also annihilate non-physician providers. The midwife industry is (for example) now extinct in NY City for this reason.
Although I normally limit my chocolate-giving to persons whom I have verified as being a nice lady (as is the case with Spanaway Lori) you have asked directly and so here you go :-)
I'm very sorry to hear this, as midwives provide very important services. I suppose this will continue as long as people remain silent and until enough people die due to overregulation and excessive litigation. Unfortunately, most political movers and shakers avail themselves of the most deluxe medical services on the planet and so are largely insulated from the realities that most other folks face. If a few Senators' wives had to wait six hours in an ER waiting room you can rest assured that these problems would be fixed overnight.
Socialized medicine is already here, in the form of HMOs. Some are better than others, but they can be very difficult to get in to see someone.
Last year, my company changed dental plans, and the cost of the DMO (like an HMO, but for dentists) was about 1/2 the cost of the PPO dental provider. I didn't read the fine print. Although there were nearly twice as many providers listed, the DMO did NOT pay anything for "out of network" dentists. Well, I broke at tooth and needed to see a dentist, and to my suprise, only one of the dentists listed by the DMO was willing to take on new DMO patients. And even though I had an "emergency," it would be almost 5 months before I could be seen.
About 4 years ago, I needed emergency back surgery. If I had been on a similar HMO plan, I would probably be in a wheel chair today.
Anytime someone says that they'd like to see "government run health care," I refer them to the VA hospital system, a rather shocking example of the way Congress has broken promises to veterans. And then I say, "Imagine the people running the DMV running the emergency room!"
Mark
This is exactly the sort of thing that Hillary had in mind, except, unlike the British system, she included civil and criminal penalties for going "outside" the system!
Mark
As Spanaway Lori says, Stoat is a great American!"
Congress gives itself life long triple gold star health insurance, PLUS back up unlimited free care at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed Army Hospital and the National Institutes of Health hospitals in suburban D.C.
The hypocrite Canadian politicians have similar special access.
I know people in Canada who have waited 6 months for an MRI to determine if their symptoms are caused by a brain tumor of MS.
People in England, once diagnosed with a disease like MS, aren't regularly prescribed the meds to slow down the exacerbation rate.
My husband just had a hip replacement, from Dr. visit to surgery was about 6 weeks (and much of the wait involves the time it takes for you to donate your own blood for the upcoming surgery). In Canada, a patient for hip replacement has to wait for up to a year to have the surgery.
Americans who think they want a nationalized health care would be the first to scream when they couldn't get "instant" access to a dr., tests, or surgery.
I think that this is based on state laws. In MO, there are similar signs, but if you read them carefully, they say that they will stabilize you and arrange transportation to another hospital.
So, if you've got a gunshot wound, they'll stop the bleeding, and send you off to the university hospital.
Mark
Sorry, guys, its not a shortage of dentists its the absence of "free" dentists that they are moaning about.
I had an acute dental infection treated by my (private) dentist in london a few years ago. I cost about $90.
These people were prepared to let their kid die rather than shell out for a private dentist.
There is no socialised dentistry in the UK any more. I haven't had an NHS dentist for about 20 years (although my pregnant wife and kids get free treatment which strikes me as being fair enough).
There is still a widespread sence of entitlement though
It is a federal law called EMTALA (acronym for Emergency Medical..something or other).
That is a GREAT deal in the UK, a real bargain compared to what I pay.
As Spanaway Lori says, Stoat is a great American!"
You're quite welcome, and thank you for your kind words
((((BLUSHING))))
MEMO TO ALL:
bd476 is a GREAT AMERICAN!
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